Reported Speech Exercises
Perfect english grammar.
Here's a list of all the reported speech exercises on this site:
( Click here to read the explanations about reported speech )
Reported Statements:
- Present Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
- Present Continuous Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
- Past Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
- Present Perfect Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
- Future Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here)
- Mixed Tense Reported Statement Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
- 'Say' and 'Tell' (quite easy) (in PDF here)
Reported Questions:
- Present Simple Reported Yes/No Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
- Present Simple Reported Wh Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
- Mixed Tense Reported Question Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
Reported Orders and Requests:
- Reported Requests and Orders Exercise (intermediate) (in PDF here)
- Reported Speech Mixed Exercise 1 (difficult) (in PDF here)
- Reported Speech Mixed Exercise 2 (difficult) (in PDF here)
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Reported speech (b1).
- RS013 - Reported Speech
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- RS011 - Reported Speech
- RS010 - Reported Speech
- RS009 - Reported Commands
- RS008 - Reported Questions
- RS007 - Reported Speech
- RS006 - Reported Speech
- RS005 - Reported Speech
- RS004 - Reported Speech
- RS003 - Reported Speech
- RS002 - Reported Speech - Mixed Exercises
- RS001 - Reported Speech - Mixed Exercises
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Reported speech: statements
Do you know how to report what somebody else said? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.
Look at these examples to see how we can tell someone what another person said.
direct speech: 'I love the Toy Story films,' she said. indirect speech: She said she loved the Toy Story films. direct speech: 'I worked as a waiter before becoming a chef,' he said. indirect speech: He said he'd worked as a waiter before becoming a chef. direct speech: 'I'll phone you tomorrow,' he said. indirect speech: He said he'd phone me the next day.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
Grammar B1-B2: Reported speech 1: 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
Reported speech is when we tell someone what another person said. To do this, we can use direct speech or indirect speech.
direct speech: 'I work in a bank,' said Daniel. indirect speech: Daniel said that he worked in a bank.
In indirect speech, we often use a tense which is 'further back' in the past (e.g. worked ) than the tense originally used (e.g. work ). This is called 'backshift'. We also may need to change other words that were used, for example pronouns.
Present simple, present continuous and present perfect
When we backshift, present simple changes to past simple, present continuous changes to past continuous and present perfect changes to past perfect.
'I travel a lot in my job.' Jamila said that she travelled a lot in her job. 'The baby's sleeping!' He told me the baby was sleeping. 'I've hurt my leg.' She said she'd hurt her leg.
Past simple and past continuous
When we backshift, past simple usually changes to past perfect simple, and past continuous usually changes to past perfect continuous.
'We lived in China for five years.' She told me they'd lived in China for five years. 'It was raining all day.' He told me it had been raining all day.
Past perfect
The past perfect doesn't change.
'I'd tried everything without success, but this new medicine is great.' He said he'd tried everything without success, but the new medicine was great.
No backshift
If what the speaker has said is still true or relevant, it's not always necessary to change the tense. This might happen when the speaker has used a present tense.
'I go to the gym next to your house.' Jenny told me that she goes to the gym next to my house. I'm thinking about going with her. 'I'm working in Italy for the next six months.' He told me he's working in Italy for the next six months. Maybe I should visit him! 'I've broken my arm!' She said she's broken her arm, so she won't be at work this week.
Pronouns, demonstratives and adverbs of time and place
Pronouns also usually change in indirect speech.
'I enjoy working in my garden,' said Bob. Bob said that he enjoyed working in his garden. 'We played tennis for our school,' said Alina. Alina told me they'd played tennis for their school.
However, if you are the person or one of the people who spoke, then the pronouns don't change.
'I'm working on my thesis,' I said. I told her that I was working on my thesis. 'We want our jobs back!' we said. We said that we wanted our jobs back.
We also change demonstratives and adverbs of time and place if they are no longer accurate.
'This is my house.' He said this was his house. [You are currently in front of the house.] He said that was his house. [You are not currently in front of the house.] 'We like it here.' She told me they like it here. [You are currently in the place they like.] She told me they like it there. [You are not in the place they like.] 'I'm planning to do it today.' She told me she's planning to do it today. [It is currently still the same day.] She told me she was planning to do it that day. [It is not the same day any more.]
In the same way, these changes to those , now changes to then , yesterday changes to the day before , tomorrow changes to the next/following day and ago changes to before .
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
Grammar B1-B2: Reported speech 1: 2
Language level
Hello Team. If the reporting verb is in the present perfect, do we have to backshift the tenses of the direct speech or not? For example: He has said, "I bought a car yesterday."
1- He has said that he bought a car yesterday.
2- He has said that he had bought a car the previous day.
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Hello Ahmed Imam,
It's not necessary to backshift the verb form if the situation being reported is still true. For example:
"I'm a doctor"
She told me she is a doctor. [she was a doctor when she said it and she is still doctor now]
She told me she was a doctor. [she was a doctor when she said it and may or may not still be a doctor now]
The reporting verb in your example would be 'said' rather than 'has said' as we are talking about a particular moment in the past. For the other verb both 'bought' and 'had bought' are possible without any change in meaning. In fact, when the verb is past in the original sentence we usually do not shift the verb form back.
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again. Which one is correct? Why?
- He has said that he (will - would) travel to Cairo with his father.
The present perfect is a present form, so generally 'will' is the correct form.
In this case, assuming that the man said 'I will travel to Cairo', then 'will' is the correct form. But if the man said 'I would travel to Cairo if I had time to do it', then 'would' would be the correct form since it is part of a conditional statement.
I think you were asking about the first situation (the general one), though. Does that make sense?
Best wishes, Kirk LearnEnglish team
Thank you for the information. It states that If what the speaker has said is still true or relevant, it's not always necessary to change the tense. I wonder if it is still correct to change the tense in this example: 'London is in the UK', he said. to He said London was in the UK. Or it has to be the present tense.
Hello Wen1996,
Yes, your version of the sentence is also correct. In this case, the past tense refers to the time the speaker made this statement. But this doesn't mean the statement isn't also true now.
Good evening from Turkey.
Is the following example correct: Question: When did she watch the movie?
She asked me when she had watched the movie. or is it had she watched the movie.
Do Subjects come before the verbs? Thank you.
Hello muratt,
This is a reported question, not an actual question, as you can see from the fact that it has no question mark at the end. Therefore no inversion is needed and the normal subject-verb word order is maintained: ...she had watched... is correct.
You can read more about this here:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/reported-speech-questions
Thank you for your response.
Hello Sir, kindly help with the following sentence-
She said, "When I was a child I wasn't afraid of ghosts."
Please tell me how to write this sentence in reported/ indirect speech.
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Reported speech - 1
Reported speech - 2
Reported speech - 3
Worksheets - handouts
Exercises: indirect speech
- Reported speech - quiz 1
- Reported speech - quiz 2
- Orders in reported speech
- Reported speech - pronouns
- Reporting verbs quiz 2
- Reported statements
- Reported speech 1 - grammar
- Reported speech 2 - grammar
- Reported speech 3 - grammar
- Reported speech 4 - grammar
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Reported Speech ESL Printable Worksheets and Exercises
Reported speech esl grammar exercises worksheet.
Indirect Speech ESL Grammar Exercise Worksheet
reported speech
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reported statments , wh- question & yes/no question
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Reported speech 2. Reported requests and orders. Reported speech exercise. Reported questions - worksheet. Indirect speech - worksheet. Worksheets pdf - print. Grammar worksheets - handouts. Grammar - lessons. Reported speech - grammar notes.
408 Reported Speech (Indirect speech) English ESL worksheets pdf & doc. SORT BY. Most popular. TIME PERIOD. All-time. Zmarques. Reported Speech. It consists of seven. 101632 uses. estrelapolar. ... Orders - Statement - 32257 uses. missaldana. Reported Speech. Questions. 30457 uses. Zsuzsapszi. Reported speech - st. This time I collecte. 28150 ...
Perfect English Grammar. Here's a list of all the reported speech exercises on this site: ( Click here to read the explanations about reported speech ) Reported Statements: Present Simple Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy) (in PDF here) Present Continuous Reported Statement Exercise (quite easy)
RS008 - Reported Questions. RS007 - Reported Speech. RS006 - Reported Speech. RS005 - Reported Speech. RS004 - Reported Speech. RS003 - Reported Speech. RS002 - Reported Speech - Mixed Exercises. RS001 - Reported Speech - Mixed Exercises. Adjective and Adverbs - Downloadable PDF Worksheets for English Language Learners - Intermediate Level (B1)
Reported Speech Exercise 3: Multiple Choices. Reported Speech Exercise. Choose the correct reported speech form for each sentence. 1. He said, "I am watching a movie." A) He said he was watching a movie. B) He said I am watching a movie. C) He said he is watching a movie. 2. She said, "I will call you tomorrow." A) She said she would ...
Reported speech: She said she disliked fried chicken. Note how the main verb in the reported statement is also in the past tense verb form. Use the simple present tense in your indirect speech if the initial words remain relevant at the time of reporting. This verb tense also works if the report is something someone would repeat. For example:
A selection of English ESL reported speech printables. Log in / Register. Worksheets. Powerpoints. Video Lessons. Search. Filters. Browse Topics: Grammar Topics General Topics. 393 Reported speech English ESL worksheets pdf & doc. SORT BY. Most popular ... 45344 uses. dimond. reported speech. for 12-grade student. 39078 uses. xcharo. Reported ...
101444. 1011. 528. 0. 1/2. It consists of seventeen statements to rewrite in the reported speech. All the statements are in the Present Simple. An answer key is provided.
indirect speech: She said she loved the Toy Story films. direct speech: 'I worked as a waiter before becoming a chef,' he said. indirect speech: He said he'd worked as a waiter before becoming a chef. direct speech: 'I'll phone you tomorrow,' he said. indirect speech: He said he'd phone me the next day. Try this exercise to test your grammar.
Reported Speech. Greg: "I am cooking dinner Maya.". Maya: "Greg said he was cooking dinner.". So most often, the reported speech is going to be in the past tense, because the original statement, will now be in the past! *We will learn about reporting verbs in part 2 of this lesson, but for now we will just use said/told.
ESL Reporting Modal Verbs Worksheet - Grammar Exercises: Identifying, Matching, Gap-fill, Rewriting Sentences, Writing a Paragraph - Intermediate (B1) - 30 minutes. In this useful reported speech worksheet, students learn the indirect form of four modal verbs and practice using them in reported speech. First, students read a short dialogue and ...
ID: 44666. 12/03/2019. Country code: RU. Country: Russia. School subject: English as a Second Language (ESL) (1061958) Main content: Reported speech (2013113) Two exercises for practicing the formation of all the types of the reported speech: statements, commands, general and special questions. Key is included. Thank you!!!
Exercises: indirect speech. Reported speech - quiz 1. Reported speech - quiz 2. Orders in reported speech. Reported speech - pronouns. Reporting verbs quiz 2. Reported statements. Reported speech 1 - grammar. Reported speech 2 - grammar.
Reported Speech: statements, questions and orders. Sofiaestrems. 771. 4. 5. 0. 1/2. Further practice to consolidate students knowledge on Reported Speech (only statements, Wh- and Yes/No questions, and orders). The worksheet also includes rever….
Reported speech (statements) with the backshift of tenses (said). Liveworksheets transforms your traditional printable worksheets into self-correcting interactive exercises that the students can do online and send to the teacher.
Liveworksheets transforms your traditional printable worksheets into self-correcting interactive exercises that the students can do online and send to the teacher. ... (ESL) (1061958) Main content: Reported speech (2013113) From worksheet author: Reported speech practice. Loading ad... Share / Print Worksheet. Google Classroom Microsoft Teams ...
Reported Speech ESL Grammar Exercises Worksheet. A colorful ESL grammar exercises worksheet for kids to study and learn reported speech. Read the short grammar information about Reported Speech for present simple, past simple and will future tense and do the exercises. Simple and useful for teaching and learning reported speech in English.
English ESL Worksheets. Grammar Topics. Reported Speech (Indirect speech) Reported speech: statements. gloenglish.
three categories: verb tense (x13 cards), direct speech (x13 cards), and reported speech (x13 cards). 4. For the interview activity, print enough of the reported speech interviews worksheets in Appendix 2 so that each student has a copy. These print outs do not need to be cut into individual cards. PROCEDURES Part 1 - Reported Speech Match Up 1.
Reported Speech - Statements. clobo05. 323. 2. -1. 0. 1/1. This is a very simple worksheet where students read an interview with a famous singer and then change what he said into the reported speech. There are only four….
Liveworksheets transforms your traditional printable worksheets into self-correcting interactive exercises that the students can do online and send to the teacher. ... Reported speech - statement Reported speech - statement. Loading ad... Lê Hồng Phước. Member for 2 years 7 months Age: 14+
18/03/2021. Country code: CL. Country: Chile. School subject: English as a Second Language (ESL) (1061958) Main content: Reported Speech sentences (2051250) From worksheet author: Worksheet created to practice reported speech sentences.
reported statments , wh- question & yes/no question. School subject: English language (1061957) Main content: prep.1 mind (2589824)